OGDEN—Award-winning songwriter and jazz recording artist Anna Wilson will perform at the annual “BUILD HOPE” Gala to benefit Habitat for Humanity of Weber and Davis Counties. The event begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 11 at HUB801, 3525 Riverdale Road in Ogden.

Wilson, who spends much of the winter and part of the summer living in Utah, has had a passion for the Habitat for Humanity mission since she participated in a project in Nashville, Tenn., where she resides most of the year. That experience also led to the writing and recording of perhaps her most widely known song, “A House, A Home.”

“I was part of an event in 2008 where we built and finished 10 homes in five days,” she said in an interview with the Davis Clipper. “They were digging foundations on Sunday and handing keys to people on Friday. It was amazing.”

Organizers asked Wilson to perform at the key presentation, and inspired by a week “of meeting so many amazing volunteers and the families who would get the homes,” she wrote “A House, A Home.”

“The occasion needed something more poignant than some of the music I usually perform, so I wrote a song that touched on all of the experiences we had that week, and it really moved everyone. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place,” she recalled.

Representatives from Habitat International were also moved, so much so that they asked Wilson’s permission to use the song in their public service announcements and other promotional efforts. It’s become Habitat for Humanity’s theme song.

“I think as an entertainer, I want anything I do to have an impact beyond just the performance,” she said. “I feel really blessed and fortunate to know this song is helping make a difference in people’s lives. I perform it at every show I do—it never gets old for me, and it’s a testament to its message that it still seems to touch others. It gives back to me all the time.”

The Saturday night gala will feature dinner, drinks, a silent auction, and Wilson’s musical performance with her The Jazz your Azz Band.

“I’m here in Utah right now, but most of the band members are flying in for this event,” she said.

Wilson has a rich career as a recording artist and songwriter. She just released her fifth studio album, “Jazzbird/Songbird,” that debuted in the Top 10 on the iTunes Jazz Chart. She’s performed with artists such as Keith Urban, Josh Groban and Kenny Rogers, and her songs have been recorded by Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn and Lady Antebellum.